Aspiration aspiration in cancer patients

Some types of cancer can cause patients to have abdominal fluid retention and cause symptoms such as: pain, discomfort, shortness of breath, poor appetite. To alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life, your doctor may recommend an ultrasound-guided abdominal aspiration. Aspiration of fluid in cancer patients is intended to relieve symptoms and not as a treatment for cancer.

Aspiration aspiration is a procedure performed to remove excess fluid from the abdominal cavity using a needle. Abnormal fluid in the abdominal cavity is also known as ascites and can cause pain, discomfort, and difficulty breathing. Ascites can have many causes, such as inflammation, trauma, cirrhosis, and especially cancer. Certain types of cancer such as ovarian cancer and liver cancer are common causes of ascites.
Patients with ovarian cancer or liver cancer in the late stages will have fluid retention throughout the abdomen. The large abdomen due to fluid retention causes difficulty breathing, poor eating, difficult urination, making the patient increasingly exhausted. To alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life, doctors may recommend ultrasound-guided abdominal aspiration. Currently, the oncology department at the hospital can perform this procedure. However, the effectiveness of the aspiration procedure depends on whether the ascites is attached to the internal organs or not. Aspiration of fluid in cancer patients is intended only for symptom relief, not as a treatment for cancer.

Before performing aspiration, the patient needs to inform the doctor if he is taking any drugs or if the patient has bleeding disorders, allergies. Patients should not eat or drink anything for 12 hours before the procedure. The aspiration process takes about 10-30 minutes. Simulation of the procedure is carried out as follows:
The patient will be asked to lie on his back or remain upright. Your doctor will do an ultrasound to find the space where fluid is most accessible. When a good space is found to insert the needle, the doctor will mark the spot. Next, the doctor will clean the puncture area. A sterile cloth may be placed around the puncture site. The needle puncture area will be numbed. A small needle is used to inject a local anesthetic under the skin. The medicine may cause a short-term burning or stinging sensation. Your doctor will wait a few minutes to make sure the anesthetic has worked. When the needle puncture area is completely numb, the doctor will insert the needle into the marked space. You may feel a temporary stinging pain. If the pain does not go away, tell your doctor. In some cases, a small incision may be made in the skin to insert the needle. The fluid will flow through the needle or a tube connected to the needle into a reservoir. The needle will be left in place to drain the necessary amount of fluid Once the liquid is drained, the needle will be withdrawn and a small bandage will be placed at the puncture site. If the patient has a skin incision, the incision will be closed with 1-2 stitches and then bandaged. After the procedure is done, your doctor will monitor your symptoms and may measure your waist circumference. If there are no side effects from the aspiration procedure, you can return to your normal activities unless otherwise directed by your doctor.

Risks of the aspiration procedure include:
Leakage of fluid from the puncture site Bleeding. Hypotension: This can be the result of a large amount of fluid being eliminated. Patients can be treated with fluids and sometimes transfusions of blood products (red blood cells). Fluid infusions will help keep blood pressure at the required level. Perforation of blood vessels, intestines or bladder: This is a very rare but very dangerous risk and may require surgery to treat. Infection: If the puncture site shows signs of infection (redness, fever, tenderness, pain, discharge, or a foul odor), tell your doctor right away. Your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to treat the infection. In general, after aspiration, the patient should be monitored for abnormalities at the needle puncture site. Actively notify the doctor when there are symptoms such as fever, pain, pus discharge, foul-smelling fluid, bloody urine, uncontrolled bleeding from the puncture site....
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Reference source: oncolink.org